Logos
by Metztli
Summary: Internal tensions in the English governmnet have had dire consequences on the Hellsing agency. Will tradition and blood lines be enough to save Hellsing in the age of business and bureaucracy? Not a good summary just read. Seras centered. First fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing.

"Logos" is a Greek word with several meanings, "idea", "meaning" and "word" among others.

* * *

**Logos**

Lightning danced in a jagged waltz within the sea of grim black clouds above the abandoned old manor. The air was thick with electric charge, moisture, and foreboding.

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

No sound, just the feeling of floating in infinite space and the flowing sensation of a reality somewhere. Then, suddenly, a pang of pain. She was falling. Something was pulling her through the vast pool of darkness and then, like a flash of lightning, she felt it: HUNGER. It hurt immensely as all her muscles tighten in a sudden spasm. She was conscious of something besides her hunger now. It was the sensation of her tongue moving out without her intent and reaching for the sweet sensation of moisture. BLOOD. As she slowly came to her senses sounds and sensations came through the blankness like messengers coming through a fog. Her eyes slowly picked up contours and her own blood slowly, every slowly, started to flow. But her mind was preoccupied with the sweet taste of the life giving fluid, which her tongue steadily brought to her lips.

* * *

A squad of armed men moved steadily across a large hallway in the manor. The soldiers wore green uniforms with a code of arms marked "Hellsing", and bulletproof vests. A very similar group likewise well armed and bearing a similar insignia with the word "Hellsing" on it, but in blue police uniforms made their way stealthily up another corridor. Both advanced through the darkness using night vision goggles.

The first group reached a large two-winged doorway at the end of their hall. The commander gestured to his men to prepare for entry. One of the men attached a set of C4 explosives to the door and the rest gathered around it, at a safe distance, with their weapons ready.

The police uniformed men stormed into a large rectangular room, breaking down the door and covering each other, pointing their guns in every direction. Immediately, the door at the other end of the room blew open with a blast and the green troops charged in.

"Drop your weapons!"

"Don't move!"

The words echoed in the darkness. One of the officers thrust his hand into a pocket in his vest and was shot before he could take out his search warrant, his action misunderstood. The crackling of automatic gunfire filled the usually silent house, then a deafening BANG and all was silenced by the explosion of a grenade.

The storm continued undisturbed outside and only the periodic flashes of lightning illuminated the room littered with bodies and covered with a pool of blood that soon spread across the entire floor. The only sound now was the steady drip, drip, drip of blood slowly soaking through the old floorboards.

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Warning: If I've managed to stir anyone's interest I would like to warn you that updates may be sporadic or nonexistent, for this I apologize in advance.

Edited some format errors. ;P

Reviews/comments/criticism very much appreciated. (Tell me whether to continue or not.)


	2. Chapter 2

Corporal Berkley slowly lifted himself of the blood soaked floor and looked around the room. He was shot at the very beginning of the firefight and fell to the ground, which saved his life. The enemy opened fire first, but, by the looks of it, it was one of his soldiers that threw the grenade: all of the green clad enemies were dead. _Shit_ he thought, as he called for help over the radio and checked his men for signs of life.

_That was a mistake. We got an order to eliminate any opposition. They no doubt received the same order. Where did I get the idea that I could avoid this within the scope of regular law. Well, they sure didn't hesitate to shoot. I guess there aren't many of us that remember the unified Hellsing organization._

He pondered his mistake, as he staggered across the hall. There was one mission objective beyond "securing the building" that only the corporal new about.

As the corporal penetrated further into the building he left a path ofblood, that dripped steadily from his wound, in his wake. He ventured across several corridors and made his way down two fleets of stairs. The corridors were all similar: polished wooden floors covered with fancy carpets; white walls decorated with paintings of various noble looking personages and wall mounted candle holders; and ceilings that sprouted chandeliers in regular intervals. While he searched the mansion the chiming of several clocks scattered in various points around the house could be heard: twelve beats indicated midnight. The corporal was surprised at the passage of time. No more then fifteen minutes could have passed since he left the bloody room; this meant that he must have been unconscious for over an hour. As he pondered this he realized that he was far weaker then he expected. He staggered and kneeled on the floor one hand on the wall to support himself, the other on his forehead as if to keep his thoughts from flowing out of his head.

_I didn't realize my weakness when I awoke (must have been the shock) and now it's catching up with me._ He thought.

Then a strange sensation engulfed his whole body. He felt numb and weak, and was breaking a cold sweat. The corporal made an effort to collect his thoughts and removed the hand that he was hitherto holding over his eyes. A jolt suddenly went through his body and a flurry of thought filled his mind: he thought he saw a figure walking towards him across the hall. He rubbed his eyes and looked again.

_No. Now I'm being delusional._

A hazy figure of a young, blue clad blond woman was headed towards him across the corridor. Berkley heard the flowing of his blood and the beating of his own heart, but no footsteps. As the woman got closer Berkley noticed that she was several feet above the normal floor level: the wooden boards and rug seemed to bulge out and upwards to support her. The corporal was a veteran and whether this was illusion or reality he knew better then to let his mind freeze while contemplating the logic of what was going on. He lifted his gun, attempting to overcome his blurred vision and aim at the figure.

"Who's are you!? Identify yourself!" He shouted.

A twitch of the woman's lips and the deep red color of her eyes were the last things he saw before she appeared suddenly right in front of him and everything went dark.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: The story takes place in a fluid hybrid of manga and anime. No incognito. Millennium only appeared in part strength causing major havoc, but still within the limits of the abillity British government of hiding the truth (general public remains unaware).

* * *

The neon lights of one of the club districts of London illuminated the otherwise dark alley with brilliant colors. Seras walked slowly through the snow. She was wearing a old brown coat that was a bit too big for her over a short black skirt and a brown woolen vest. She presented an overall surprising appetence, her hair messy, her head drooping and her eyes vacant and inattentive.

A shabby looking fellow that had been smoking a cigarette and drinking vodka out of a bottle in a paper bad in a nook between two clubs gave her a nasty look filled with evil desire. He took several steps forward to cross her path, but his expression changed quickly to an uncertain, irrational fear. The man turned back and left the alley hastily with the instinct of a stray dog. Seras would have been afraid, she would have likely ran from the man and screamed even though she could have torn him apart effortlessly. She still lived her old life at times, especially times like these. But right now she did not even notice the man; she noticed nothing and wondered with no destination across the dark streets of London.

She had killed a human and a Hellsing officer at that. It was true that he would have surely died anyway, but she wasn't sure whether she wouldn't have attacked him regardless of what state he was in. The confusion that accompanied her awakening was not helping and the conditions that she was put to sleep in where not entirely clear either. It was a bad time for Hellsing then. A period of tranquility in which it appeared that the vampires have finally been suppressed was interrupted by the damn nazis. The Hellsing agency handled its job of eliminating the threat with traditional efficiency: the enemies that had dared raise a hand against England and the Protestant faith had been completely eradicated. In every other way the operation had been a complete fiasco. There was huge collateral damage, the Hellsing agency took considerable losses, keeping the whole thing from spilling out into the public eye was a miracle, and the government of England was divided and thrown into uproar by the unfolding events. The Queen was displeased and her opponents doubly so. Seras was told to go to sleep shortly after and knew nothing else. Now she had no idea what had happened or even what year it was.

Back at the mansion when she realized what she had done these thoughts were only present in her mind in the form of shattered pieces and wisps of thought that were entirely dominated by the emotions that raged within her. Fear. Regret. Confusion. She ran from that house as fast as she could. As she walked aimlessly among the streets of London she no longer thought about anything in particular and even her emotions had died down. Seras was somewhere deep inside asleep, or petrified, or otherwise locked away in the deep recesses of her soul. (If she had one that is.)

* * *

In a different part of the city, the one that Seras had left not long ago, the night had been made considerably brighter. The area was still rather empty, but the wailing of sirens could be heard coming closer and a black car with smoked windows was leaving the area speedily.

"Are you satisfied with the effect, sir?" Asked the driver of that conspicuous car. The passenger, an old black-haired gentleman in a plain black suit, sat in the back reading some papers. "Sir?" The driver repeated. Walter lifted his head from the papers and looked out the window. The fire reflected in his monocle. He paused for a moment.

"Yes, I suppose it will suffice." The house was engulfed in a ball of fire and a column of dark smoke billowed into the sky. "Its shameful." He continued after another pause. His features reflected only a hint of his true emotions, but his eyes were cold and murderous. "Those fools. Businessmen, bureaucrats and politicians staining the name of the Hellsings like this." The driver did not think he was meant to respond so he just drove on out of the bright aura of the fire and back into the darkness.

_The bloody idiots! _Walter said to himself. He was a very controlled man and some time had passed since the events that irritated him so much, but the indignation had been piling up for some time. _There is no place here for people like them in this line of work. Here we deal with totality: with absolutes. There is no compromise, no calculation of chances or affordability, here there is only duty and what must be done to fulfill it. They will fail miserably and then the only person worthy of the task will return to serve her majesty once again._

* * *

In an elegant room in a stately house somewhere another man was under the influence of different passions. The room was very modernly furnished. A leather sofa and a conference table filled one half of the rectangular room, while a large desk stacked with papers and files stood in the other. Several white-boards, TV screens and computers were scattered around the room. The aforementioned man paced back and forth behind the desk, while another stood by one of the chairs at the conference table a large cell phone laying in front of him.

"I just don't understand this. I hate these people. I would like to call them sloppy, but I cant. I would like to say that they were inefficient but, again, I can't. Their methods don't make any sense. How they managed doesn't make any sense at all. Such an immense investment! Did the Queen really believe there was profit in this?" The manager fussed while pacing in his office. His partner in conversation was the chief accountant. He, however, remained quiet and the managers speech remained a monologue.

"I had been given nothing to work with here. A list of duties, that's all! Scraps of information, an archaic and incomprehensible organizational structure, resources that I will never use, it all makes me sick."

"But sir. You had to use considerable influence to get this post. In fact it must have taken all your resources. The Queen would never give a post like this to someone outside of her circles."

"Yes! I know! She angers me most of all! How can she maintain so much power even after the fiasco. Her power was supposed to be symbolic! The world is run on money nowadays. She should be gone by now. What does she have? The strength of tradition?" He continued mockingly. "She was supposed to be a figurehead!"

The accountants cell phone rang. He answered it listened briefly and hung up. "I will prepare all the necessary papers." He said after he related the news to his boss.

The manager fell silent for several seconds then screamed: "WHAT! BURNED DOWN! It took months and considerable resources and all that just for an address. An address and nothing more! And now it's all burned down! I hate it. IT has all been kept from me even though I'm supposed to be the head of this damn organization. I am the manager of Hellsing, 2nd Division and yet I know none of the secrets that I am _sure_ this organization used to hide."

* * *

A/N: Someone please do review. I only ask for one (so I know that someone is actually reading this). 


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you very much to my first three reviewers. Reading these helped a lot to overcome my laziness.

Kinkyo: I like it! And I'm reading it. I hope you continue to update the story, as I am very interested to find out what happens next.

Metztli: Thanks!

Neonlights: ... Well I think you should update... like NOW! Whats goin on?? And What happened to the mansion? is it empty? and Where is our favorite Big Red Monster?

update soon please! and please make your chapters al ittle longer!

Metztli: Update "NOW!"? I shall obey. Alucard is busy playing cards with Beelzebub and Mephistopheles, but he will appear later, along with Integra and Walter.

pbjsandwich: It's an interesting idea, though I can't really comment on anything yet. You've only revealed so much, after all. Your chapters are too short. I'd make them longer. Otherwise, I love your writing style and I hope to see more from you :D

Metztli: I'm glad you like it. I have a tendency to go into long and somewhat surreal descriptions, but I think its well balanced out in this story.

AN: The chapters are short, I know, but I will attempt to make them longer as I go along. All I have written before were short stories that rarely exceeded 500 words. I started writing this partially to try to become more flexible: long format, plot, many characters, more dialog… It's not going very well (the breaking of old habits), but I'll do my best.

p.s. - I extended chapter 3, so please go back and read what I added.

* * *

A ghastly fog slowly materialized and swallowed up the surroundings as Seras continued her dazed midnight stroll. In a dreamlike state she had been transported across London and into a desolate neighborhood composed of old houses in the state of disrepair.

Seras walked entranced into an old forgotten park. This overgrown area had long been forgotten and was completely deserted. Trees were growing everywhere out of the foliage of fog that twirled and rose in streaming torrents in the breeze. As Seras continued her journey deeper inside, the dense dark clouds above her parted like an eye revealing a great round moon that illuminated a forgotten pathway with its eerie rays. She followed this overgrown path. The fog retreated from under her feet and caressed her form as she moved forward. Hours may have passed as easily as minutes: Seras was unaware of the passage of time.

Eventually she arrived at an old ornate gate. The barking of dogs could be heard echoing through the scene. The atmosphere was somber and Seras felt her thoughts and emotions stir somewhere inside her. She experienced the voyage through the park up till now in a dazed disembodied way, but now her thoughts were very slowly coming together with the hint of recognition. She moved on through the gate. It was not a thought out decision, perhaps it was not even a conscious decision. She walked on because she was _meant _to.

A hill presented itself before her. It emerged from the fog like an island and was topped with a strange circular structure. As Seras climbed the hill the cauldron of the sky churned and the wind let out a long penetrating howl. When she got closer Seras noticed that there were flowers in front of this structure. The primitive temple, because that is what it looked like was, was composed of large stone columns arranged in a circle. The structure appeared to have had a roof at one point but it was gone now. Inside the circle there was an empty pedestal. Seras, who was beginning to form thoughts deep inside, found this emptiness sad in a strange inconceivable way.

When she entered the ring she noticed that on the inside the columns were carved into the shapes of many open books: many, many open books. The books were inscribed in a writing that Seras did not recognize. The visible pages of these books had illustrations in them. These were far more understandable to Seras and she slowly turned around in a circle and craned her head to take them all in. Some of the engravings were beautiful: angels, forests and entrancing patterns. Others were ugly: carvings of demons, snakes, and various other monsters. Then there where those that were worn by time and unclear.

The wind now raged in a wild dance of fury and had taken the sky as its partner. Thunder, the howling of the wind and the barking of dogs accompanied the dancing pair: an orchestra from hell. Lightning flashed in bursts of radiant light lashing the earth like a furious whip that tore up the sky with each swing. The rain poured down in streams and waves.

Behind the structure stood an old black rotting tree and behind it, in turn, the outline of a graveyard was visible in the flashes of lightning. There was a black crow on the tree. A spectral vision with ruffled feathers that stooped motionless on its branch and stared down at Seras. The tree and its branches was like a bizarre window of stained glass. Its frame made of the jagged lines of the branches and its glass the sky. Inside this frame the moon shone like a part of a mysterious decoration.

Seras felt the cold, and the rain and wind beating against her body, but she felt strangely entranced and… happy? There was something that called out to her in this wild storm. Her heart squeezed and shouted: "IT'S BEUTIFUL! GLORIOUS! MARVELOUS!" She felt familiar: she felt one with all this. A flurry of passions churned inside her. As she stood inside this strange temple a wild grin stretched out across her face and she turned her head this way and that to watch the spectacle.

_It truly was Wonderful_.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Sorry for the delay. This chapter was really tough to write. I wanted to make it longer, push the plot forward, and insert another action scene. My school work was getting in the way too.

Hopefully the plot has gotten a bit more interesting. I hope I managed to stir some curiosity and drop a bit of a hint as to future developments.

I don't really like the action scene. It could be a lot better and longer. It's my first time writing one. I will probably rewrite it some time.

p.s. Finally some dialogue! I like long winding monologues way too much.

* * *

Seras woke with the first rays of sunshine in the morning in a completely different world. The park, in full daylight this time, looked far more commonplace. With the fog, the darkness and the moon gone it made the impression of an overgrown and unfrequented patch of vegetation, but hardly resembled the strange inner world Seras visited that night.

Seras' head throbbed with a dull persistent pain. She felt slightly dizzy as if she had drunk heavily the day before. _Why am I feeling this way?_ She thought. The memories of last night came back to her slowly and it took some time to piece them together in the right order. _Is it because I came out of lethargy last night? That's probably it. Is there any other logical explanation?_ She felt annoyed by her persisting ignorance of these common facts of vampire life._ I wonder how master felt waking up after sleeping for so many years. Must have been horrible; then again he is so powerful that he may not have felt anything at all… How long have I slept anyway?_

She got up and attempted to put herself back in order. Somewhere in the old park she found a small fountain. Although old and crooked a trickle of water still flowed out of the brass swans beak. Seras washed her face in the cold water. It helped considerably and simple logical thoughts that she could not form the night before came to her more easily now. She had to go back to Hellsing. _The man I… He was going to die anyway. _She convinced herself. _If Hellsing was there it was probably to wake her up; what other reason would they have for being in that old house? _It was chosen as her resting place simply because it was a safe location, unconnected to Hellsing, and available on short notice.

* * *

The manager of the 2nd Division of Hellsing was calmer now (relatively speaking). His anger had turned into excitement as the news come in. According to the investigation unit someone had left that house shortly after all contact was lost with the last member of the entry unit. The manager wasn't sure who this was, but he had a gut feeling that this strange person, a woman apparently, had what he was searching for. He took some time to think where this agent's loyalty may lie and quickly settled that it was most likely in the hands of that damn politician in charge of the 1st Division.

The leader of DH2 had uncovered a considerable amount of information about the old Hellsing, but the type of information he was looking for seemed impossible to find. He needed records of blood tests, and autopsies. Any information about the anatomy and workings of the vampire organism would do: and he was _sure_ that the said agent had found and taken this information out of the old house.

'Find, trail and capture by any means. Kill if necessary. The objective is to retrieve a hard information carrier possessed by the target.' These were the commands he gave to his subordinates.

"Hurry up, demit. Time is money." He growled under his breath.

* * *

With great apprehension of the moment she would have to face Sir Integra, but determined that she would humbly take any punishment the leader of Hellsing deemed necessary; Seras decided to go to the Hellsing mansion. It was really the only sensible solution: her bond to Hellsing ran deep. She didn't consider going back to the old house where she had slept. There was nothing there except her empty coffin… and the dead officer who would have been taken care of by now.

Seras used the early morning hours to buy a pair of sunglasses when there were few people around. When she noticed that the storekeeper looked at her strangely she mumbled something about red contacts being trendy now. The storekeeper, an aged man, found this quite satisfactory. Considering that youth tended to pierce and tattoo every conceivable part of their body nowadays, red contacts were quite tame.

Seras also bought a newspaper. _Two years, huh. _It wasn't that long. Now that she thought about it London didn't seem very different. Some new buildings had appeared and others were missing; other then that it was the same old London. She was relieved. It would be terrible to wake up and find that everything and everybody she had known was gone and replaced by a strange new world.

After asking several people for directions, Seras found herself on a bus headed towards the area in which the Hellsing manor was located. She didn't have much to do while on the bus and her thoughts drifted immediately back to last night. She remembered the terror on that soldiers face. As she approached her destination an ominous shiver ran down her back.

The first bad signs appeared early. There were no guards at the gate and the grounds looked rather unkempt. After brief consideration Seras jumped over the fence and walked across the deserted grounds towards the front entrance.

Seras knocked politely several times on the massive double doors before she pushed on the knob. It was locked. The young vampire closed her eyes and concentrated on the door, opening her third eye and allowing all the other senses to slip away from her consciousness. For a brief moment she felt as if she was floating in a dark tank of water. Then she felt herself pulled forward as if gravity suddenly started acting sideways. The entrance room of the Hellsing manor flowed slowly into view replacing the darkness. Still, no soul to be seen.

She was somewhat reassured by her success at passing through the gate and proceeded to the heart of the building. Her good spirit was drained quickly and replaced by cold panic as she noticed that everything even remotely connected to the Hellsing agency was gone. "Hello. Anybody there." She said loudly, feeling awkward and uncertain of herself. It was like one of those fairy tales in which the inhabitants of a whole castle disappear without a trace. The building was dark and unbearably quiet.

Seras felt a pang of hope as the faint smell of smoke reached her nose. As she moved quickly to the source of the smell, she heard the crackling sound of a fire, and soon felt the presence of a single human being.

Passing several corridors and a fleet of stairs she arrived at the source of these sensations. She was standing next to the open door to one of the leisure rooms.

"Please come in, Mrs. Victoria. There is no need to hide behind that doorframe… I've prepared a meal for you." Walter said, gesturing to a silver tray with a pack of medical blood that rested on a small stool next to him. He sat in front of a lit fireplace on a comfortable antique armchair.

"Walter!" Seras exclaimed. A broad smile decorated her face; she was incredibly relieved to see a familiar face. "I have so many questions."

"They will have to wait. You came quite late and we are short on time. Eat your meal quickly." There was urgency in Walter's voice although his demeanor remained calm.

Seras did as instructed and drank the blood hastily. She was used to it by now and only grimaced slightly: medical blood was ok. As she drank Walter stood up, grabbed a large black bag from behind the chair he was sitting on and put it on the table.

"Hurry Mrs. Victoria, they will be here any minute." Walter said as he took a large automatic rifle and several magazines out from the bag and handed them to Seras who had just finished her meal.

"They?" Seras asked puzzled.

"I'll explain later. Follow me, quickly." He walked briskly out of the room and down one of the halls, Seras following closely behind. "If any connection between Hellsing and us is made Sir. Integra will find herself in a very precarious situation." Walter explained as they walked.

Before he finished Seras heard, with her heightened sense of hearing, the bang of a doors being forced open and the clamor of boots on the floor. "Someone's coming!" Seras exclaimed.

They ran down a narrow hallway that forked in two directions at the end. As they rounded the corner Seras sensed someone would be there and raised her gun, ready to fire. The enemy was not what she expected. Instead of a vampire or terrorist, she came face to face with several men in very familiar uniforms. She gasped and hesitated to pull the trigger.

The soldier's rifles barked savagely as they spewed a hail of bullets. Seras was struck by several rounds in the stomach just as Walter's silver wires lashed out and cut the enemy to pieces, leaving deep scars and stains of blood on the walls of the narrow corridor.

"Don't hesitate Victoria, they are not Hellsing!" Walter said as he ran onward. Seras followed several meters behind him. As they approached the staircase that would take them down to the first floor a door burst open between Seras and Walter, and two soldiers ran into the hall right in front of Seras. She reacted smoothly this time jabbing the first in the face with the stock of her rifle and knocking the other unconscious by swinging her weapon sideways into his head.

_Police Girl! You didn't kill either of them. _Seras heard her master's voice boom in her head, half mocking, half amused. _It seems you've gotten all your bad habits back those last two years._

_But Master! _Seras retorted, caught by surprise by the old vampires intrusion at such an inconvenient moment. _They're humans, Hellsing soldiers. _

_So? They're trying to kill you aren't they?_

_But Master, they must be just following orders. They're doing their job._

_Would it make it easier for you if I ordered you to kill them? _Alucard's tone was perverse and mocking.

_NO! Don't do that._

_Ha, ha, ha, ha. _Alucard's laughter echoed in her head. _Of course I won't Police Girl. It would be pointless to make you learn, you have to do that on your own. Have fun Police Girl! _With another wild laugh, he was gone and Seras was back in the middle of a firefight. She did not have time to reflect on the apperence of her Master. "Seras!" Walter had just chucked a grenade down the staircase and flew down into the cloud of dust clearing his way with a broad swing of his deadly wires. Seras ran after him.

Gunfire erupted from a balcony on the side of the stairs. Seras responded by firing several bursts in the direction of the enemy to keep them down. She could still make Walter out in the dust, but the enemy soldiers shot blindly. The bullets struck around the fleeing pair as they made their way to one of the garages.

There an old fashioned black car stood ready. Walter got in and started driving away. Seras covered the door with a hail of bullets, and then she jumped into the car. At the click of a remote the door of the vast garage opened and allowed the car passage. The car was hit several times before Walter managed to leave the garage, but the damage was not serious.

The car was now accelerating across the Hellsing grounds. Instead of heading towards the main gate Walter steered the car around the mansion. "Walter! What are you doing?" Seras exclaimed. "The front exit is most likely guarded by the enemy. We have a greater chance of getting out the back." The enemy shot out of the windows of the mansion. Seras was surprised that they had not been slaughtered by now. The back gate now came into view. It was closed. Seras closed her eyes as the car smashed its way through the gate.

Walter chuckled seeing the look of surprise on Seras' face. "I borrowed this car from Sir. Integra, she can't use it now anyway. I hope she won't be too angry about the scratched finish." He said. They sped away down the road.

It was already quite late and the sun was setting. The air was damp and foggy. Seras thought they had made it, but soon heard gunfire and noticed several cars in hot pursuit.

"Are they following us?" Walter asked and slowed down. Seras looked at him with surprised.

"Yes, but why did you slow down?"

"Didn't I tell you Mrs. Victoria? We can't let any of them survive. They themselves won't make the necessary connections, but their superiors might."

The chase continued for some time. Walter steered away from the city and into increasingly small and neglected roads until they reached a forest. The fog had gotten thick and the sun was setting. Visibility was very poor and the car was quite literally swallowed up by the mist.

Walter stopped and got out. "Seras! You have about half a minute to hide in the fog. Use your superior senses to pick them off from a distance I will stay close to the car." He said. Sears gave him a pained and confused look. "Sears, you are the holiest damned soul I've ever met. Leave sainthood to the saints." He said hastily. The cars could be heard and their headlights seen in the distance. "Go!" He ran off to the side. Seras grabbed her riffle, some ammunition and she too ran off, forward, into the forest.

As the sun set the fog took on a bloody red color. Several cars pooled up when they reached the abandoned vehicle. About two dozen soldiers advanced cautiously into the red sea of fog.

The waves closed in and drowned them.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: More plot revealed and a better action scene.

I took a look at the story statistics and the "storm chapter" really seems to have discouraged a lot of people. I just wanted to say that I put it in there for a reason and that it is part of the plot. I'm not sure whether I'll manage to use it as well as I hoped to, but there will be at least one more.

Lunatic Pandora1: Only two years? Must've happened a lot in that time, then.

Metztli: Arresting Integra and the highest ranking Hellsing operatives would have taken no more then a week. Then a special "think tank" would be assigned to overhaul the organizational structure and HR. That would take a year or so to complete, a bit longer because of the political squabbling as to the organization's future. The new division system of Hellsing would have become fully operational about half a year before the beginning of this story. Or at least that's how I imagine it.

Kinkyo: yay! another few chapters! I like it thus far, and expect more from you soon!

Metztli: Thank you for the continuing support and here's another chapter.

* * *

A splendid table covered with a perfectly white tablecloth and laden with expensive food and dinnerware marked the center of the room. The table was rectangular. One end was empty, the sides were occupied by well dressed men in black suits or military uniforms, and at the head presided the master of the house himself: the leader of the 1st division. He was dressed in a white suit with a white dress shirt underneath and a red tie. A decorative red napkin protruded from his breast pocket. His hair was well kempt and blonde, he was neatly shaven and his eyes were blue. His smile, just small enough to be recognizable, gave a nasty impression. Perhaps this was his intention. 

He was reading a series of reports that were propped up on a small instrument resembling a music stand that was placed next to him for that purpose.

"Horribly annoying, wouldn't you say." He remarked to no one in particular.

"Yes, Mr. Henderson, very much so." The closest of the assembled staff was obliged to answer, not knowing what his boss was talking about.

The politician gestured to one of the servants to take a stack of papers away.

" There is a situation, this many people died, we took this many casualties. Don't I hire enough people to take care of all the annoying formalities?" He continued.

"Anyhow, let us get down to the real business." He rang his fork against a glass for silence. "I understand that the 2nd division is on the move. What is the situation?"

One of the black suit clad gentlemen in the room rose and reported: "The Second Division had shown considerable activity. They have sent substantial forces to the old Hellsing headquarters and then of course there is the incident at Merryville street."

The imbecile, the politician referred to the businessman in no other way, was being a nuisance once again. He made all the rash decisions and all the wrong choices. He was digging a grave for himself and the politician intended to wait patiently, but the imbecile was taking his bloody time. It was amazing that an impulsive imbecile like that could rise to such a position. The imbecile couldn't possibly get anywhere in the world of politics and that he got anywhere as a businessman was downright amazing… But he did.

The politician wouldn't have made it this far if he wasn't cautious. He could not afford not to know what his competition was doing. The manager's men had shot his men, or perhaps it was the other way around, it really didn't matter. The point was that the imbecile was up to something.

"Should we take any additional action, sir?" The question interrupted the politicians thoughts.

"Continue surveillance. Assign additional men to the sector. Be very cautious… Do I always have to tell you everything?" His strategy was simple: know as much as possible; take only the necessary calculated actions; take advantage of others and any situation that arises to fortify your position; and so on. In short: stay afloat and climb the ladder. "What about the flow of money to the weapons producers associated with the 2nd divisions manager?"

"The transfers have increased by about 5 percent just last month, sir. They may amount to as much as 10 percent of the divisions budget by now. Their cover up methods are working well. The money has been melted into the expenses of supply, training, recruitment, intelligence and every other conceivable department."

_Nothing unexpected here._ The politician thought, knowing that the manager had risen through illegal weapons deals and his influence in several major arms corporations. _He is as corrupt as any other member of government. Yet, the sums are extravagant. Sums like those can't possibly go unnoticed. _The politician was sure that the manager would be finished son. It almost made him think that keeping an eye on him was a waste of effort.

Just as a huge roast pork was being brought in, to the great enthusiasm of the guests, one of the savants came into the room abruptly and handed Henderson a file. The politician opened, it unhappy at the interruption, scanned it over and then looked. This time he was very attentive and read the whole content of the file.

The meeting would take a bit longer then expected. The file immediately eclipsed the matter of the manager and became the topic of intense conversation between the politician and his intelligence advisor, who sat at his right side.

"… Yes, it is possible that it is the same group."

"What is the level of clearance of this information?"

"Top Secret, sir."

"Good. Destroy all documents related to this and put all the resources of your department on it. Make it as quiet as you can and don't disperse any more information then you have to. Find out how much the other departments, the government and the queen know."

The politician had a good sense of dangerous situations and this one could turn out to be very dangerous indeed. He would have to act with great caution from now on. _Heads will fall. _He thought. There is no such thing as not making mistakes. If you don't react you will surely be accused of not doing your job. If you act you will make mistakes. Either way someone will have to take the blame so the others can be reassured that mistakes won't be repeated. Mr. Henderson was determined not to be this person.

* * *

The soldiers advanced cautiously through the fog. They found the target's vehicle and were now conducting a search of the area. The deep fog had an unnerving effect on the men. They advanced closer together then they should have. Their eyes shot this way and that. Every swirl of mist and every hazy shape hidden in the fog was a potential enemy. 

A queer metallic hissing sound was suddenly heard. A tangle of fine wires became discernable as they burst forth from the mist, caught several soldiers and sliced them apart while dragging them into the mist. The screams of the men and then an explosion of machine gun fire could be heard through the desolate wood.

Seras made her first shot guided by hearing alone. This shot was easiest, her victim didn't even scream; he had been shot in the head. As her blood red vampiric eyes penetrated the fog and made every feature of the men's faces discernable it got harder. The fact that she was fighting humans and that they were wearing Hellsing uniforms was still unnerving to her. However, she fired consistently.

The enemy soldiers were now hiding behind trees and laying on the ground for cover. They fired magazine upon magazine blindly into the haze. Seras, however, was firing from a far greater distance then the doomed soldiers could expect and was shielded by the thick fog.

Behind the battleground, in the place where the Hellsing cars were parked, the remaining Second Division forces had arrived. These men were far better armed and equipped. They had night vision goggles, which through their light amplification capability gave them a slight edge in the fog, heavy machine guns and grenade launchers.

As this group disappeared into forest a man dressed in an old, worn and ragged brown coat and hat emerged from one of the cars. He was an older man with brown hair, beard, and whiskers. Under his hat he wore a set of multi-purpose goggles. A gas mask hung loose close to his neck. He held an old wood-base bolt-action rifle with a scope. The rifle was painted with black impressions of demons and beasts.

This man was one of the very few professionals in the current Hellsing organization. He was a mercenary with many years of experience.

In the meantime Seras depleted several magazines. The first wave was long gone and the second had already managed to take its place. The heavy machine guns forced Seras to change position every several shots and the enemy used this time to entrench their positions.

As Seras was once again forced to run from the torrent of 50 cal shells that tore up the trees around her she heard the single crack of a rifle. A silver bullet grazed her left arm splattering blood onto the green foliage. The direction from which it came stifled her; it had come from the side. She reacted immediately by swiveling her gun in the direction of the shot and firing several rounds. Surprisingly she did not see the enemy. There was a slight delay in her eyes adjustment to pierce the fog that caused her to miss the form of the target. She saw only a shape that leaped behind a small hill. A distinctive klu-klux-clang could be heard as the bolt-action rifle was reloaded.

Seras advanced cautiously. As she advanced stealthily, she strained her hearing to catch her opponents movements. This was made considerably harder by the constant gun fire to her left. The soldiers, who had previously laid flat, have started to advance using the machine guns to lay suppression fire. The only indicator of Seras' position had been the sound of her gun, so the machine guns swept the woods blindly; Seras had to duck several times to avoid the passing torrent of shells.

Then, she heard a distinctive crackling of the branches. She swirled around, aimed her gun, and fired. The enemy fired at the same time. Seras dodged and only received another graze this time on the right shoulder. She was sure she hit her opponent although she didn't see it. The sound of the bolt, which closely followed the two shots warned her that the opponent was still alive.

Seras knew her opponent was not an average soldier. She would have to think fast. The bullets, which she had thought lucky shots in the beginning, had been aimed with great precision. Her opponents reflexes, his ability to move and his accuracy seemed almost instinctual. It was the type of animalistic, prophetic instinct that vampires possessed.

Seras advanced quickly. She intended to use her superior speed and strength in close quarters combat. The smell of small amounts of blood encouraged her. As she came closer to the enemies last position, she swerved to the right ran briskly to the flank and then gave a giant leap aimed to land right behind the small bulge that her opponent hid behind.

He was not there. Instead an explosion erupted to her right. She jumped to the side. The explosion itself did not harm her but thick yellow smoke filled the area. The smoke mixed with the fog forming fantastic shapes. It stung her eyes and burned her lungs. She did not need to breath, but she could not smell and the cursed gas attacked her eyes.

Shots erupted from behind the new screen of yellow. Seras ducked and rolled on the ground avoiding injury. She shot in the direction from which she was attacked and ran forward as to avoid the gas, but still close on the enemy. She heard the rushing of feat and the reloading sound of the rifle. She made another great leap, so as to land closer to her opponent and out of the yellow gas. He had predicted her movements exactly. As she landed, poised to strike, a grenade flew out of the fog. Seras saw the shiny green egg making an elegant arc until it seemed to stop in the air a meter away from her face and half a meter above her head.

BOOM! The hallow explosion of the grenade shook the nearby trees and tore a spherical hole in the seemingly solid matter of gas and fog.


End file.
